[Vision2020] Define Tax Support

John Danahy jdanahy@turbonet.com
Sun, 21 Sep 2003 16:57:42 -0700


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When talking about the Alturas Park, mis-identification of what =
constitutes
tax support has usually come up.  Are the day to day operations of the =
park
supported by taxes?  My guess would be no.  Was the original development
supported by taxes?  Based on the information available at the time =
voters
approved the park, my answer would be yes.  Why?  Because voter approval
would not have been needed otherwise.  It is easy to claim or forget =
what
happened years ago, which is what the city government is counting on =
when it
tries to change the original intent.

I have no problem with the city's wanting to change the direction of the
park, provided the city "sells" the park to private ownership.  By this =
I
mean the city should try to recover the original investment that tax =
payers
supported, either by direct "sale" or by a LID style of local tax =
increase.

If I remember correctly, the Park "paid" for its infrastructure by =
having
the city redirect its taxes into paying off a bond rather than =
supporting
city services.  The rest of the community supported the services, =
including
those of the park, by paying a greater share of the tax burden.  Thus =
the
park is indeed a tax supported enterprise.  The community, by supporting
this idea thru voter approval, (unlike so many other "ideas" of city
government where voter approval is unwanted) supported the original
direction; that is, a high tech business park.

Yes, it was a gamble, but the community thought it was a good one.  =
What, to
my mind, hasn't been fully addressed by the city, is why the idea =
failed.
To express the failure in terms of a high tech downturn, is to =
nefariously
oversimplify where the city and the park went wrong.

John

jdanahy@turbonet.com

=20


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<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>When talking about the </span></font><font =
face=3DArial><span
  style=3D'font-family:Arial'>Alturas</span></font><font =
face=3DArial><span
 style=3D'font-family:Arial'> </span></font><font face=3DArial><span
  style=3D'font-family:Arial'>Park</span></font><font face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-family:Arial'>, mis-identification of what constitutes tax =
support
has usually come up.&nbsp; Are the day to day operations of the park =
supported
by taxes?&nbsp; My guess would be no.&nbsp; Was the original development
supported by taxes?&nbsp; Based on the information available at the time =
voters
approved the park, my answer would be yes.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Because =
voter
approval would not have been needed otherwise.&nbsp; It is easy to claim =
or
forget what happened years ago, which is what the city government is =
counting
on when it tries to change the original intent.</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>I have no problem with the city&#8217;s wanting to =
change
the direction of the park, provided the city &#8220;sells&#8221; the =
park to
private ownership.&nbsp; By this I mean the city should try to recover =
the
original investment that tax payers supported, either by direct =
&#8220;sale&#8221;
or by a LID style of local tax increase.</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>If I remember correctly, the Park &#8220;paid&#8221; =
for its
infrastructure by having the city redirect its taxes into paying off a =
bond
rather than supporting city services.&nbsp; The rest of the community =
supported
the services, including those of the park, by paying a greater share of =
the tax
burden.&nbsp; Thus the park is indeed a tax supported enterprise.&nbsp; =
The community,
by supporting this idea thru voter approval, (unlike so many other =
&#8220;ideas&#8221;
of city government where voter approval is unwanted) supported the =
original
direction; that is, a high tech business park.</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Yes, it was a gamble, but the community thought it =
was a good
one.&nbsp; What, to my mind, hasn&#8217;t been fully addressed by the =
city, is
why the idea failed.&nbsp; To express the failure in terms of a high =
tech
downturn, is to nefariously oversimplify where the city and the park =
went
wrong.</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>John</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><a =
href=3D"mailto:jdanahy@turbonet.com">jdanahy@turbonet.com</a></span></fon=
t></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

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